bonhomie

[ bon-uh-mee, bon-uh-mee; French baw-naw-mee ]

noun

1. frank and simple good-heartedness; a good-natured manner; friendliness; geniality.

bonhomie

/ bɔnɔmi; ˈbɒnəmiː /

noun

1. exuberant friendliness

Other Words From

• bon·ho·mous [bon, -, uh, -m, uh, s], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of bonhomie¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; from French, equivalent to bonhomme “good-natured man” ( boon ², Homo ) + -ie -y ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of bonhomie¹

C18: from French, from bonhomme good-humoured fellow, from bon good + homme man

Example Sentences

First up, the call between the prime minister and the president-elect, seeking, in Downing Street’s description of it, to describe a tone of warmth, even bonhomie between the socialist former human rights lawyer and the billionaire wheeler-dealer New Yorker.

From BBC

The relative bonhomie in Paris was briefly imperilled at the outset by a furore when organisers mixed up the two nations’ names in the opening ceremony, for which they apologised.

From BBC

But that Obama-era bonhomie between Silicon Valley and the Democratic Party has come close to disintegrating.

From New York Times

In his small office along a bustling Agra street, Siraj Qureshi, a local journalist and interfaith organiser, laments the fraying of the old bonhomie between Hindus and Muslims.

From BBC

At Esquire, Charles Pierce summoned up an unforgettable description of Biden’s speech as a "First round knockout, delivered with the kind of 19th hole bonhomie that allows anyone to be in on the joke ... in vivid contrast to Speaker Mike Johnson, who was sitting behind the president and looked throughout like a man eating toads."

From Salon